The WPA Outcomes Statement, validation, and the pursuit of localism

•Applies a new evaluation framework for the evaluation of consensus statements regarding writing instruction in local settings.•Establishes challenges of locally developed assessment.•Offers a heuristic framework for validation of scores and their use.

This validation study examines the WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition, a United States consensus statement for first-year post-secondary writing, as implemented in a unified instructional and assessment environment for first-year college students across three different institution types. Adapting categories of contemporary validation from Kane (2013), we focus on four forms of evidence gathered from early and late-semester student performance (n = 153): scoring, generalization, extrapolation, and implication. With an emphasis on education policies in action, the study generates important questions that, in turn, provide a basic framework for further research into the challenges of aligning broad consensus statements with locally developed educational initiatives.